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Shares of the drug developer rose as much as 6.1% to $249.50 amid a broader rally in the stock market. Moderna has surged more than 220% over the past 12 months as drugmakers raced to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus. The first shots were advanced in record time with Moderna’s inoculation getting emergency use authorization in the U.S. in December, just a week behind the first approval for Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech SE’s vaccine.
Read more: Big Take: Moderna Chases Shots for Flu, HIV at Dawn of MRNA Era
The breakthrough has helped vault the biotech firm to a household name as Americans identify the jab they received by the company name, “Pfizer” or “Moderna.”
In late June, Moderna’s shot was cleared for importation in India where the delta variant has taken hold. Other vaccines authorized in the South Asian country include ones from AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Plc, Bharat Biotech International Ltd. and Russia’s Sputnik V.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company also said its vaccinations are producing antibodies against the more easily transmitted delta form of the pathogen, though at a lower level than for the main virus. Moderna is also targeting other viruses like Zika and the flu as well diseases like HIV and cancer.
AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV). and Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN). are two other U.S.-based biotechnology companies with more than a $100 billion in market value.
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